ranslated by Coke
Edited by Joh
The day before leaving the hospital, the Liang family also came to visit.
As for the Liang family, back in the previous dynasty, the family had focused on river transportation, and they were engaged in shipping operations as their main livelihood. When the time of changing dynasties came, this didn’t affect their operations. During that era, the construction of the Canal Road was nearly completed, and the Liang family’s business flourished further and further throughout the years. Although their business was situated in the small town of Miaoshui, which was located near the bodies of water, the business was remarkable enough that even the capital had heard of it.
After the Liang family stacked a fortune and became wealthy, they frantically bought a piece in their hometown. The first that their ancestors thought of was to buy land and save it. After purchasing the lot, the family rented the land to tenant farmers who wished to plant their own crops. This didn’t mean that they had to hand out a portion of the sales, but the Liang family only required them to pay fees as rent. It wasn’t like those boozers who harshly come for rent collection, but rather they were generous and patient. Over time, the reputation of this landlord, who was a charitable person, was known far and wide.
Passing down to this generation, it was said that current Liang Yuanwai married a daughter who was in charge of the fleet in ships. There was no news of furen’s1 stomach getting bigger, still, she hadn’t seen Liang Yuanwai2 take a concubine. It was during those ten years of waiting that the fu ren had become more welcoming and helpful to those who needed it. The clinic didn’t have any instances where they hadn’t received free porridge. She devoted her time to charity as she waited for good news. Finally, five or six years ago, the mistress gave birth to a young gong zi3, making the Liang family overjoyed. It was these two people that Yang Dalang had saved.
So the Liang Family’s gratitude was sincere. They didn’t come right away to visit Yang Dalang, since he was still coping with his injuries, which would be pretty inconvenient if they did so. Having heard that Dalang would leave the hospital tomorrow, Liang Yuanwai took his wife and youngest son outside to personally thank Yang Dalang.
“This time it really is thanks to Yang Dalang, otherwise my furen and er zi4 could not escape from the accident. Brother Yang’s5 great benevolence and great virtue to Liang, Liang is not ashamed to compensate you, so we’ve prepared a meager gift for you outside. I ask Brother Yang to not avoid my humble present. Moreover, Xiong di didn’t have to worry about this injury! This matter is the responsibility of the Liang Family, solely, and the Liangs will surely ensure that we keep to date with this responsibility till the end!”
Except for the good fabrics for their clothing, Liang Yuanwai didn’t appear like the wealthy landlord that he was6, he was a dark and thin middle-aged man. Even Liang Furen didn’t look like the usual girls who came from wealthy households that displayed common lady-like appearances. Her complexion was slightly darker but she was energetic. The only white and pump individual among the three of them was the young gong zi who was held by the hands of Liang Furen. The baby still looked quite ignorant of worldly matters as he bit his finger obediently.
Liang Furen also expressed her gratitude, in a rather brisk way of speaking, “Yes, ah. In that carriage, Hutou and I were both frightened and silly. Fortunately, Yang Xiong di obstructed the carriage to stop. If not, we would have crashed into commoners’ houses, and I wouldn’t know how many people would be harmed. Yang xiongdi is really good at kung fu and your strength is even bigger than my father’s. I told him that, yet he still doesn’t believe it.”
“You two are very polite. It’s just self-help.” Yang Dalang nodded slightly, as he couldn’t move much now that he’s injured. Miao He couldn’t help but support him with a hand.
Upon seeing this, Liang Furen finally calmed down. “It’s not our intention to make the little ger worry. Our Lao ye7 has also inquired with the doctor of this hospital about your condition earlier. And so, if you return back tomorrow, then Elder Doctor Ji will also check up on you regularly. Don’t worry about the medicinal tonics you need, and just let Yang xiongdi recuperate well without problems. By the way, how are they going to go back to Brother Yang’s house tomorrow? Lao ye, why don’t you make arrangements for the carriage? Stitched some cushions on the interior, so that these people could go home properly and comfortably?”
“No need to tell, my lady. It has been arranged already,” Liang Yanwei laughed.
The last paragraph made Miao He’s impression of the couple much better. By just giving gifts and thanks, or no matter how beautiful the words flowed out of their mouth, it could only be said that they were just doing their moral responsibility for the accident. Only those who truly think that they were sincere would fall onto the particulars.
“Then, thank you both,” Miao He said.
After that, Liang Yuanwai and Liang Furen exchanged a few more words, and also took their leave. A convoy came over the next day to send them home, which was a bit of a spectacular show. In addition to the large customized carriage with a carriage on tow, there were also two carriages of gifts behind it. They didn’t know exactly whether it was added after the Liang Family returned home yesterday.
As soon as the magnificent convoy, such as this, entered their village, the people dropped everything they were doing and followed the carriage with their awed eyes. Soon the village buzzed about the news of the special carriages.
“Hey, who are those people? Those carvings on the car are intricately made, and there are also many horse trailers. It’s so amazing to look at it! Wait, are those gift carriages behind? Which well-off household is coming to make a decision?! Which family daughter will be blessed?! Why haven’t I heard of it?”
“Don’t you know? Didn’t you say that the Yang Family’s Dalang was hit by a carriage? That’s exactly it. It turned out that the carriage that hit the person by saving them belonged to the Liang Family of great landlords in the town. Yang Dalang saved the people from accidents and got injured. As a matter of fact, they were also sent here by the great Liang Family with those carriages. And the lack of gifts is out of the question, as certainly there exist somewhere too. Tsk tsk, the old Yang Family will make a fortune ah.”
“Oh yeah, how can they be so lucky!! You can get so many good things by just getting hit by a carriage? I don’t know what’s in them, but they’re high value for sure, based on what I’ve seen! How about we wait and ask them? Maybe we could exchange some things. Like some of those good things given by this influential family can’t be bought with money!”
“Tut, do you dare? No one even dares to cross with him because of his fierce face, yet you dare to go. I don’t even want to touch his nails.”
“Tsk, isn’t there also his husband? Brother He is also really lucky ah. Not long after he followed, he ran into such good luck. And I don’t know what Miao Yuan would think about that. What happened to him after he was admitted at the university, hey, don’t tell me that, it’s better than the great family of landlords?”
After Miao Yuan got admitted to the school, his family felt that they had gained an upper standing in the village. Raising their heads high enough that everyone could see the insides of their noses, which also came with a price. Their previously honored scholar reputation was gradually tainted black. Hence, it wasn’t strange that their family name was brought up in people’s gossip.
“Right. It’s not that I said that Brother He can’t be said to have the flourishing life of a husband. You see, he and Miao were once close, not until Miao Yuan passed the exam and became a tongshen7. Not long after that, he was married to Yang Dalang and has these presents! Even if Brother He was unruly before, as he walks right beside Yang Dalang, he’ll undoubtedly have a happy life in the future days to come. Hey, that’s a life blessed with so much fortune.”
Aunt Ying, who was standing beside them, keenly listened to their conversation with great dissatisfaction apparent on her face. She said sharply, “What’s so envious about it, isn’t it just saving a person and receiving a gift? If those gifts were consumed, then they’d be gone. This person, you must be able to see far ahead that fame is the most crucial thing. Yet your eyes only see the immediate benefits, which is called shortsightedness! You will know that in the future!”
The sharp tongue Aunt Ying was Miao Yuan’s uncle’s wife. In their family’s house, both the first and second sons of the family, Dafang8, and Erfang9, catered a great relationship between them. Hence, Aunt Ying always spoke for Miao Yuan during times like this.
“That’s right. We didn’t have the chance to read books, we’re short-sighted. But just as I thought, it’s important for one to be famous, and it should be my own son who does the math. Relying on others, if the favor is gone, then it’ll exactly cease to exist. If you run into a previous fickle lover, aiyo, that is much more dangerous.”
Unexpectedly, Aunt Ying’s opponent was also barbed-mouthed, immediately angering her. “What nonsense are you talking about?! Our Yuanzi is a true scholar, who knows filial piety. So don’t spit out the rubbish with your mouth just to ruin someone’s name!”
“Then just you wait for that someone to show filial duty, and it’s better to drop that pot that supports you! Let’s go!”
A group of aunts, who stood on the side watching the excitement, broke up unhappily. As for Aunt Ying, she left the scene and went home as she panted in rage. Seeing her eldest son, Miao Guang, enjoying his time relaxing in the courtyard, Aunt Ying instantly snapped, “Why are you here? Didn’t you talk about going to work in a workshop?”
With his peace disrupted, Miao Guang waved his hands exasperatedly in front of his mother. “A-niang, let me rest for a while and drink cold water. If you move beans and grind beans every day, then you’ll know that it’s very tiring to make some tofu, yeah?”
“You still hate the job ah! Making tofu is such a lucrative job to earn money. You must learn it, and in the future, when you know how to make them, you’ll definitely be a supervisor in the workshop and your mother won’t ask you to go to the field again.”
“Oh, really?”
“If you have the money in the future, won’t you invite people to plant the field? This is the way that rich people do. Moreover, you have to make a good relationship with Yuanzi and don’t say that this tofu is a recipe that Yuanzi read from ancient books. That person is still planning to be an official in the future. Be intimate with your patrilineal cousin, but don’t follow his prestige. I see that Miao Liang also made this idea, so don’t lose out to those outsiders!” Remembering what the person said earlier, Aunt Ying exhorted this sentence.
“Tut, that Miao Liang kid is just a man on the side of uncle and grandpa. Who is closer than me! Yuanzi let him into the workshop because of the lack of manpower! The same way as Brother Chun, who the hell is that? Why did he let him take care of the workshop, does A-niang know?”
“It’s a relative from your third grandfather’s uncle’s house. Back then, a violent snowstorm befell in the village of Yuanjia, and he had escaped for survival. Your grandfather had taken care of him before, he helped and watched over him.”
“But A-niang, I think something is wrong. Yuanzi can be so close to Brother Chun. I’ve seen it in the workshop—”
“What nonsense!! How can Yuanzi be so undisciplined! Be careful with your big mouth, and don’t give A-niang the idea that you lag behind in refining tofu! Otherwise, you will have to go back farming, and let your brother take your place!”
“A-niang ah! Can adi out-clever me? Oh dang, I still have to go to the workshop!!”
Right after the dispute between Aunt Ying and Miao Guang, Miao He and Yang Dalang had also reached their home after a lapse of a few days. But once they entered their courtyard and before everything was still about to be carried down, Miao He found out that the only place Yang Dalang could stay in was the wooden bed in the bedroom.
Yang Dalang’s injured ribs, although it wasn’t good to move so often, however, he also should not lie down all the time. Lying down had a high chance of producing phlegm, and phlegm will cause inflammation, and vibration as he coughed, which was no good for his injury. The best posture would be— half-sitting and half-lying down. In the future days to come, he wouldn’t need to lie down, then move around as he sat just to eat.
Miao He regretted that he didn’t think of this beforehand. When Yang Dalang had finally settled down in the bed for the time being, and the caravan had finished putting everything off, Miao He quickly got money and went to Second Aunt Yang’s house. As soon as he arrived, he ordered a deck chair from Yang Yang Dalang’s cousin, Yang Datong, who was a carpenter. After guiding him on the design of the chair, Yang Datong immediately knew that it was for Yang Dalang to heal his injuries. Having thought of that, he patted his chest resolutely and promised that he would drive the work tonight, and there would be a chair tomorrow! It was just that Dalang’s brother did not want to collect his money.
Miao He didn’t spend time arguing for this, so he picked up the spare ribs Aunt Ying had stuffed over to him and hurried back home. Around this time, the people in the convoy had already gone back early. Without the presence of strangers coming and going into their house, Miao He saw a small furry head popping out from the back of the house. It quickly noticed him, and soon ran towards him as it meowed loudly. The kitten cried grievances all the way as if thinking that he was abandoned by his beloved hooman.
Miao He also felt sorry. Although Yang Dalang had asked his second aunt to constantly replenish the food and water in the yard, and water the vegetable field when he was still confined in the hospital, they still, nevertheless, left this poor little thing alone. Miao He hurriedly scooped up the kitten, caressing its fur to console it. “I’m sorry. I’ve made you hungry these past few days. Are you losing weight? Don’t worry, I’ll cook some delicious food for you tonight.”
The tiny ball of black fur rubbed its head in Miao He’s palm as if it had agreed. But when Miao He wanted to put the coquettish fur ball on the ground, it didn’t want to leave. Miao He simply stuffed the kitten in the lapel of his clothes. The kitten popped his head up and smelled inquisitive, and stayed obediently.
Not until Miao He entered the bedroom. “What are you doing?”
Yang Dalang was sitting on the edge of the bed, undressing in a painfully slow motion. His expression was painfully skewed and beads of sweat rolled down to his chin due to the involvement of his chest. Yang Dalang looked at him, and puffed out, “I want to take a bath. Dirty.”
Back when they’re still at the hospital, Yang Dalang, who was lying on the hospital bed, was ordered by the staff to not move too much and could only wipe his body with a damp towel as a substitute for his bath. It was very uncomfortable to stay in the hospital for many days. Moreover, coupled with the inconvenience of changing clothes in a painfully slow motion, if the weather was too hot, the odor of the body would be a bit too distinct.
Miao He quickly walked over. “I’ll help you. Wait for me to boil the water.”
As soon as he said that, he carefully put Dabai into Yang Dalang’s hands, and went back to the backroom to start a fire and boil water.
When the water was fetched from the tank, he realized that there wasn’t much water left in the tank. It might only last for a day or two, at most. This meant tomorrow, he would have to get water from a nearby stream or from a well opened at the village. However, these jobs were usually done by Yang Dalang automatically. Miao He didn’t even realize it until now.
Situated in front of the fire as he thought, Miao He wiped the sweat sticking on his forehead. After a while, he finally made a hot pot of water, and also took a towel in passing. When he entered the entrance of the bedroom, Yang Dalang’s upper body was the first thing that welcomed him. His clothes were already stripped off but it wasn’t considered to be red-stripe. Since most of his upper body, especially his ribs, was securely tied around bandages to fix his injuries.
Miao He hastily twisted the towel off of excess water and wiped it on Dalang’s face and neck in careful motion. He was also the one doing this, most of the time, back in the hospital, so he became proficient at it. Followed after the head, the shoulders and arms were also wiped clean. And when the whole upper body was smeared clean by the lukewarm towel, Miao He paused. He took a deep breath, and said, “Stand up.”
After a beat, Yang Dalang voiced out, “No need.”
Miao He’s face was a little hot and stained with pink hues. “I need to. I can’t always not—, it’ll happen in the future too.”
Yang Dalang was passive for a while, contemplating. Finally, he let Miao He help him get up. Miao He mustered up the courage to stretch out his hands towards the belt of his trousers, hypnotizing his heart that what was there to be shy about this when they were both men anyway. He needed me for support and was a caregiver now to Yang Dalang. But the moment of truth began, with glistening beads of sweat forming in his forehead, as he held that belt to remove Yang Dalang’s trousers.
Dalang couldn’t bend down, so Miao He squatted down to conduct his duty. During this period, time had never become so strenuously slow. Miao He’s eyes didn’t know exactly where to look, and the tanned skin under his towel held by his hand seemed to be searing hot. From the moment he guided his hands down, Miao He felt his hands becoming heavier like a lead and his eyes too.
At last, when his mental and physical torment came to an end, he dressed Yang Dalang in clean, breathy clothes, and propped him up on the edge of the bed. Dalang seemed to be much more comfortable now that he was refreshed. Miao He also let out a sigh of relief. He turned around wishing to concoct medicine for the man, but he stopped by a hand holding his wrist.
Miao He, who froze for a second, turned his head back. His face still retained the hotness it once had ago. “What?”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
Somehow, Miao He’s face became even hotter. He stuttered and left a single-word sentence of “no” and fled.
Miao He went to the stove in the backroom in haste strides, and the unexpected action of Yang Dalang was thrown to the back of his mind. There was no time for him to think about it. He had to concoct medicine, cook dinner, spoonfeed Dalang to eat and drink medicine, and wash him. When all of his tasks were done for the whole night, Miao He was so exhausted that he couldn’t even manage to open his eyes without closing them unconsciously.
When he entered the bedroom, he saw Dalang already fast asleep. He quietly walked to the bed where Yang Dalang was lying and crawled inside to sleep on the offered space. Fortunately, the wooden bed was big enough to house the two of them, so he didn’t have to worry about injuring Dalang more in the middle of his sleep.
As soon as he laid his head on the pillow, it didn’t take long for his hand to be gently grasped by a large calloused hand in the dim room.
It was just that Miao He had already snored lightly.
Footnotes:
[1] 夫人 fū ren – lady or madam
[2] 梁 员外 Liáng yuán wài – name of the husband. I initially thought that it’s “Liang landlord” or “landlord Liang” since yuan wai means landlord (old passage). But it’s a name, another wordplay, ig
[3] 公子 gōng zǐ – son of an official; son of nobility; your son (honorific)
[4] 儿子 ér zi – son
[5] 杨 兄弟 Yáng xiōng dì – surnamed Yang and brother, respectively
[6] 本人 běn rén – the person himself or I (humble form used in speeches). This time, the first def was used.
[7] 老爷 lǎo ye – (respectful) lord or master
[8] Dafang 大 房 dà fáng – eldest and branch of an extended family; classifier for family members (or concubines), respectively
[9] 二房 èr fáng – second branch of an extended family or concubine
[10] 阿弟 ā dì – younger brother
ranslated by Coke
Edited by Joh
The day before leaving the hospital, the Liang family also came to visit.
As for the Liang family, back in the previous dynasty, the family had focused on river transportation, and they were engaged in shipping operations as their main livelihood. When the time of changing dynasties came, this didn’t affect their operations. During that era, the construction of the Canal Road was nearly completed, and the Liang family’s business flourished further and further throughout the years. Although their business was situated in the small town of Miaoshui, which was located near the bodies of water, the business was remarkable enough that even the capital had heard of it.
After the Liang family stacked a fortune and became wealthy, they frantically bought a piece in their hometown. The first that their ancestors thought of was to buy land and save it. After purchasing the lot, the family rented the land to tenant farmers who wished to plant their own crops. This didn’t mean that they had to hand out a portion of the sales, but the Liang family only required them to pay fees as rent. It wasn’t like those boozers who harshly come for rent collection, but rather they were generous and patient. Over time, the reputation of this landlord, who was a charitable person, was known far and wide.
Passing down to this generation, it was said that current Liang Yuanwai married a daughter who was in charge of the fleet in ships. There was no news of furen’s1 stomach getting bigger, still, she hadn’t seen Liang Yuanwai2 take a concubine. It was during those ten years of waiting that the fu ren had become more welcoming and helpful to those who needed it. The clinic didn’t have any instances where they hadn’t received free porridge. She devoted her time to charity as she waited for good news. Finally, five or six years ago, the mistress gave birth to a young gong zi3, making the Liang family overjoyed. It was these two people that Yang Dalang had saved.
So the Liang Family’s gratitude was sincere. They didn’t come right away to visit Yang Dalang, since he was still coping with his injuries, which would be pretty inconvenient if they did so. Having heard that Dalang would leave the hospital tomorrow, Liang Yuanwai took his wife and youngest son outside to personally thank Yang Dalang.
“This time it really is thanks to Yang Dalang, otherwise my furen and er zi4 could not escape from the accident. Brother Yang’s5 great benevolence and great virtue to Liang, Liang is not ashamed to compensate you, so we’ve prepared a meager gift for you outside. I ask Brother Yang to not avoid my humble present. Moreover, Xiong di didn’t have to worry about this injury! This matter is the responsibility of the Liang Family, solely, and the Liangs will surely ensure that we keep to date with this responsibility till the end!”
Except for the good fabrics for their clothing, Liang Yuanwai didn’t appear like the wealthy landlord that he was6, he was a dark and thin middle-aged man. Even Liang Furen didn’t look like the usual girls who came from wealthy households that displayed common lady-like appearances. Her complexion was slightly darker but she was energetic. The only white and pump individual among the three of them was the young gong zi who was held by the hands of Liang Furen. The baby still looked quite ignorant of worldly matters as he bit his finger obediently.
Liang Furen also expressed her gratitude, in a rather brisk way of speaking, “Yes, ah. In that carriage, Hutou and I were both frightened and silly. Fortunately, Yang Xiong di obstructed the carriage to stop. If not, we would have crashed into commoners’ houses, and I wouldn’t know how many people would be harmed. Yang xiongdi is really good at kung fu and your strength is even bigger than my father’s. I told him that, yet he still doesn’t believe it.”
“You two are very polite. It’s just self-help.” Yang Dalang nodded slightly, as he couldn’t move much now that he’s injured. Miao He couldn’t help but support him with a hand.
Upon seeing this, Liang Furen finally calmed down. “It’s not our intention to make the little ger worry. Our Lao ye7 has also inquired with the doctor of this hospital about your condition earlier. And so, if you return back tomorrow, then Elder Doctor Ji will also check up on you regularly. Don’t worry about the medicinal tonics you need, and just let Yang xiongdi recuperate well without problems. By the way, how are they going to go back to Brother Yang’s house tomorrow? Lao ye, why don’t you make arrangements for the carriage? Stitched some cushions on the interior, so that these people could go home properly and comfortably?”
“No need to tell, my lady. It has been arranged already,” Liang Yanwei laughed.
The last paragraph made Miao He’s impression of the couple much better. By just giving gifts and thanks, or no matter how beautiful the words flowed out of their mouth, it could only be said that they were just doing their moral responsibility for the accident. Only those who truly think that they were sincere would fall onto the particulars.
“Then, thank you both,” Miao He said.
After that, Liang Yuanwai and Liang Furen exchanged a few more words, and also took their leave. A convoy came over the next day to send them home, which was a bit of a spectacular show. In addition to the large customized carriage with a carriage on tow, there were also two carriages of gifts behind it. They didn’t know exactly whether it was added after the Liang Family returned home yesterday.
As soon as the magnificent convoy, such as this, entered their village, the people dropped everything they were doing and followed the carriage with their awed eyes. Soon the village buzzed about the news of the special carriages.
“Hey, who are those people? Those carvings on the car are intricately made, and there are also many horse trailers. It’s so amazing to look at it! Wait, are those gift carriages behind? Which well-off household is coming to make a decision?! Which family daughter will be blessed?! Why haven’t I heard of it?”
“Don’t you know? Didn’t you say that the Yang Family’s Dalang was hit by a carriage? That’s exactly it. It turned out that the carriage that hit the person by saving them belonged to the Liang Family of great landlords in the town. Yang Dalang saved the people from accidents and got injured. As a matter of fact, they were also sent here by the great Liang Family with those carriages. And the lack of gifts is out of the question, as certainly there exist somewhere too. Tsk tsk, the old Yang Family will make a fortune ah.”
“Oh yeah, how can they be so lucky!! You can get so many good things by just getting hit by a carriage? I don’t know what’s in them, but they’re high value for sure, based on what I’ve seen! How about we wait and ask them? Maybe we could exchange some things. Like some of those good things given by this influential family can’t be bought with money!”
“Tut, do you dare? No one even dares to cross with him because of his fierce face, yet you dare to go. I don’t even want to touch his nails.”
“Tsk, isn’t there also his husband? Brother He is also really lucky ah. Not long after he followed, he ran into such good luck. And I don’t know what Miao Yuan would think about that. What happened to him after he was admitted at the university, hey, don’t tell me that, it’s better than the great family of landlords?”
After Miao Yuan got admitted to the school, his family felt that they had gained an upper standing in the village. Raising their heads high enough that everyone could see the insides of their noses, which also came with a price. Their previously honored scholar reputation was gradually tainted black. Hence, it wasn’t strange that their family name was brought up in people’s gossip.
“Right. It’s not that I said that Brother He can’t be said to have the flourishing life of a husband. You see, he and Miao were once close, not until Miao Yuan passed the exam and became a tongshen7. Not long after that, he was married to Yang Dalang and has these presents! Even if Brother He was unruly before, as he walks right beside Yang Dalang, he’ll undoubtedly have a happy life in the future days to come. Hey, that’s a life blessed with so much fortune.”
Aunt Ying, who was standing beside them, keenly listened to their conversation with great dissatisfaction apparent on her face. She said sharply, “What’s so envious about it, isn’t it just saving a person and receiving a gift? If those gifts were consumed, then they’d be gone. This person, you must be able to see far ahead that fame is the most crucial thing. Yet your eyes only see the immediate benefits, which is called shortsightedness! You will know that in the future!”
The sharp tongue Aunt Ying was Miao Yuan’s uncle’s wife. In their family’s house, both the first and second sons of the family, Dafang8, and Erfang9, catered a great relationship between them. Hence, Aunt Ying always spoke for Miao Yuan during times like this.
“That’s right. We didn’t have the chance to read books, we’re short-sighted. But just as I thought, it’s important for one to be famous, and it should be my own son who does the math. Relying on others, if the favor is gone, then it’ll exactly cease to exist. If you run into a previous fickle lover, aiyo, that is much more dangerous.”
Unexpectedly, Aunt Ying’s opponent was also barbed-mouthed, immediately angering her. “What nonsense are you talking about?! Our Yuanzi is a true scholar, who knows filial piety. So don’t spit out the rubbish with your mouth just to ruin someone’s name!”
“Then just you wait for that someone to show filial duty, and it’s better to drop that pot that supports you! Let’s go!”
A group of aunts, who stood on the side watching the excitement, broke up unhappily. As for Aunt Ying, she left the scene and went home as she panted in rage. Seeing her eldest son, Miao Guang, enjoying his time relaxing in the courtyard, Aunt Ying instantly snapped, “Why are you here? Didn’t you talk about going to work in a workshop?”
With his peace disrupted, Miao Guang waved his hands exasperatedly in front of his mother. “A-niang, let me rest for a while and drink cold water. If you move beans and grind beans every day, then you’ll know that it’s very tiring to make some tofu, yeah?”
“You still hate the job ah! Making tofu is such a lucrative job to earn money. You must learn it, and in the future, when you know how to make them, you’ll definitely be a supervisor in the workshop and your mother won’t ask you to go to the field again.”
“Oh, really?”
“If you have the money in the future, won’t you invite people to plant the field? This is the way that rich people do. Moreover, you have to make a good relationship with Yuanzi and don’t say that this tofu is a recipe that Yuanzi read from ancient books. That person is still planning to be an official in the future. Be intimate with your patrilineal cousin, but don’t follow his prestige. I see that Miao Liang also made this idea, so don’t lose out to those outsiders!” Remembering what the person said earlier, Aunt Ying exhorted this sentence.
“Tut, that Miao Liang kid is just a man on the side of uncle and grandpa. Who is closer than me! Yuanzi let him into the workshop because of the lack of manpower! The same way as Brother Chun, who the hell is that? Why did he let him take care of the workshop, does A-niang know?”
“It’s a relative from your third grandfather’s uncle’s house. Back then, a violent snowstorm befell in the village of Yuanjia, and he had escaped for survival. Your grandfather had taken care of him before, he helped and watched over him.”
“But A-niang, I think something is wrong. Yuanzi can be so close to Brother Chun. I’ve seen it in the workshop—”
“What nonsense!! How can Yuanzi be so undisciplined! Be careful with your big mouth, and don’t give A-niang the idea that you lag behind in refining tofu! Otherwise, you will have to go back farming, and let your brother take your place!”
“A-niang ah! Can adi out-clever me? Oh dang, I still have to go to the workshop!!”
Right after the dispute between Aunt Ying and Miao Guang, Miao He and Yang Dalang had also reached their home after a lapse of a few days. But once they entered their courtyard and before everything was still about to be carried down, Miao He found out that the only place Yang Dalang could stay in was the wooden bed in the bedroom.
Yang Dalang’s injured ribs, although it wasn’t good to move so often, however, he also should not lie down all the time. Lying down had a high chance of producing phlegm, and phlegm will cause inflammation, and vibration as he coughed, which was no good for his injury. The best posture would be— half-sitting and half-lying down. In the future days to come, he wouldn’t need to lie down, then move around as he sat just to eat.
Miao He regretted that he didn’t think of this beforehand. When Yang Dalang had finally settled down in the bed for the time being, and the caravan had finished putting everything off, Miao He quickly got money and went to Second Aunt Yang’s house. As soon as he arrived, he ordered a deck chair from Yang Yang Dalang’s cousin, Yang Datong, who was a carpenter. After guiding him on the design of the chair, Yang Datong immediately knew that it was for Yang Dalang to heal his injuries. Having thought of that, he patted his chest resolutely and promised that he would drive the work tonight, and there would be a chair tomorrow! It was just that Dalang’s brother did not want to collect his money.
Miao He didn’t spend time arguing for this, so he picked up the spare ribs Aunt Ying had stuffed over to him and hurried back home. Around this time, the people in the convoy had already gone back early. Without the presence of strangers coming and going into their house, Miao He saw a small furry head popping out from the back of the house. It quickly noticed him, and soon ran towards him as it meowed loudly. The kitten cried grievances all the way as if thinking that he was abandoned by his beloved hooman.
Miao He also felt sorry. Although Yang Dalang had asked his second aunt to constantly replenish the food and water in the yard, and water the vegetable field when he was still confined in the hospital, they still, nevertheless, left this poor little thing alone. Miao He hurriedly scooped up the kitten, caressing its fur to console it. “I’m sorry. I’ve made you hungry these past few days. Are you losing weight? Don’t worry, I’ll cook some delicious food for you tonight.”
The tiny ball of black fur rubbed its head in Miao He’s palm as if it had agreed. But when Miao He wanted to put the coquettish fur ball on the ground, it didn’t want to leave. Miao He simply stuffed the kitten in the lapel of his clothes. The kitten popped his head up and smelled inquisitive, and stayed obediently.
Not until Miao He entered the bedroom. “What are you doing?”
Yang Dalang was sitting on the edge of the bed, undressing in a painfully slow motion. His expression was painfully skewed and beads of sweat rolled down to his chin due to the involvement of his chest. Yang Dalang looked at him, and puffed out, “I want to take a bath. Dirty.”
Back when they’re still at the hospital, Yang Dalang, who was lying on the hospital bed, was ordered by the staff to not move too much and could only wipe his body with a damp towel as a substitute for his bath. It was very uncomfortable to stay in the hospital for many days. Moreover, coupled with the inconvenience of changing clothes in a painfully slow motion, if the weather was too hot, the odor of the body would be a bit too distinct.
Miao He quickly walked over. “I’ll help you. Wait for me to boil the water.”
As soon as he said that, he carefully put Dabai into Yang Dalang’s hands, and went back to the backroom to start a fire and boil water.
When the water was fetched from the tank, he realized that there wasn’t much water left in the tank. It might only last for a day or two, at most. This meant tomorrow, he would have to get water from a nearby stream or from a well opened at the village. However, these jobs were usually done by Yang Dalang automatically. Miao He didn’t even realize it until now.
Situated in front of the fire as he thought, Miao He wiped the sweat sticking on his forehead. After a while, he finally made a hot pot of water, and also took a towel in passing. When he entered the entrance of the bedroom, Yang Dalang’s upper body was the first thing that welcomed him. His clothes were already stripped off but it wasn’t considered to be red-stripe. Since most of his upper body, especially his ribs, was securely tied around bandages to fix his injuries.
Miao He hastily twisted the towel off of excess water and wiped it on Dalang’s face and neck in careful motion. He was also the one doing this, most of the time, back in the hospital, so he became proficient at it. Followed after the head, the shoulders and arms were also wiped clean. And when the whole upper body was smeared clean by the lukewarm towel, Miao He paused. He took a deep breath, and said, “Stand up.”
After a beat, Yang Dalang voiced out, “No need.”
Miao He’s face was a little hot and stained with pink hues. “I need to. I can’t always not—, it’ll happen in the future too.”
Yang Dalang was passive for a while, contemplating. Finally, he let Miao He help him get up. Miao He mustered up the courage to stretch out his hands towards the belt of his trousers, hypnotizing his heart that what was there to be shy about this when they were both men anyway. He needed me for support and was a caregiver now to Yang Dalang. But the moment of truth began, with glistening beads of sweat forming in his forehead, as he held that belt to remove Yang Dalang’s trousers.
Dalang couldn’t bend down, so Miao He squatted down to conduct his duty. During this period, time had never become so strenuously slow. Miao He’s eyes didn’t know exactly where to look, and the tanned skin under his towel held by his hand seemed to be searing hot. From the moment he guided his hands down, Miao He felt his hands becoming heavier like a lead and his eyes too.
At last, when his mental and physical torment came to an end, he dressed Yang Dalang in clean, breathy clothes, and propped him up on the edge of the bed. Dalang seemed to be much more comfortable now that he was refreshed. Miao He also let out a sigh of relief. He turned around wishing to concoct medicine for the man, but he stopped by a hand holding his wrist.
Miao He, who froze for a second, turned his head back. His face still retained the hotness it once had ago. “What?”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
Somehow, Miao He’s face became even hotter. He stuttered and left a single-word sentence of “no” and fled.
Miao He went to the stove in the backroom in haste strides, and the unexpected action of Yang Dalang was thrown to the back of his mind. There was no time for him to think about it. He had to concoct medicine, cook dinner, spoonfeed Dalang to eat and drink medicine, and wash him. When all of his tasks were done for the whole night, Miao He was so exhausted that he couldn’t even manage to open his eyes without closing them unconsciously.
When he entered the bedroom, he saw Dalang already fast asleep. He quietly walked to the bed where Yang Dalang was lying and crawled inside to sleep on the offered space. Fortunately, the wooden bed was big enough to house the two of them, so he didn’t have to worry about injuring Dalang more in the middle of his sleep.
As soon as he laid his head on the pillow, it didn’t take long for his hand to be gently grasped by a large calloused hand in the dim room.
It was just that Miao He had already snored lightly.
Footnotes:
[1] 夫人 fū ren – lady or madam
[2] 梁 员外 Liáng yuán wài – name of the husband. I initially thought that it’s “Liang landlord” or “landlord Liang” since yuan wai means landlord (old passage). But it’s a name, another wordplay, ig
[3] 公子 gōng zǐ – son of an official; son of nobility; your son (honorific)
[4] 儿子 ér zi – son
[5] 杨 兄弟 Yáng xiōng dì – surnamed Yang and brother, respectively
[6] 本人 běn rén – the person himself or I (humble form used in speeches). This time, the first def was used.
[7] 老爷 lǎo ye – (respectful) lord or master
[8] Dafang 大 房 dà fáng – eldest and branch of an extended family; classifier for family members (or concubines), respectively
[9] 二房 èr fáng – second branch of an extended family or concubine
[10] 阿弟 ā dì – younger brother
